Oxford Reactive Ion Etcher (RIE)

Description

The Oxford reactive ion etcher (RIE) is dedicated for diamond-only etching to create nanostructures and photonic/phononic devices in diamond. The tool features a 3kW inductively couple plasma (ICP) etch source and gases for all standard RIE procedures. Typical diamond etches involve Ar/Cl2 or Ar/O2 plasmas which achieve etch rates up to 120 nm/min and produce surface roughness as low as 200-300 pm. Quartz wafers carrier wafers are used rather than Si to eliminate contaminant species at the diamond surface and promote the highest etch quality possible.